Wednesday, May 31, 2017

People or Profits, That's the issue

Why
is there world hunger in a world
of food surpluses?Why
are there unemployed nurses, alongside closed-down hospitals
and waiting
lists?

Why are there homeless people in the streets and empty houses
with "for sale" signs?

Why
do some people get stressed working long hours while others get
stressed from the boredom of unemployment?

If
you don't like present-day society... if you are fed up with the way
you are forced to live...if you think the root cause
of most social problems is the market system, then your ideas echo
closely with ours.We
are standing to argue the case that capitalism is past its sell-by
date. The world can now easily produce wealth sufficient to
adequately house , feed , care for and educate the global population.
Instead we see hunger, disease and homelessness around the world
despite the concerns of governments and charity NGOs. Closer to home,
in a "developed" nation like the UK, we see child poverty
and an increasing gulf between rich and poor. Rates of depression and
anxiety are becoming epidemic.

Capitalism
now acts as a barrier, preventing production being geared to human
need. Rather than keep trying to tinker with this system we should
start looking beyond it to an alternative: a wage-free, money-free,
class-free world community based on production for human need, not
profit. This social change can only come about once the majority
understand it and want it. It won't come about by following leaders
or voting for someone else to do it. The other candidates contesting
this election (whether openly pro-capitalist or avowedly socialist)
are asking you to believe that they can run this society a little bit
better . We’d argue that history shows that the money system
actually ends up running them. Their pre-election promises usually
amount to nothing .So don’t vote for them - it only encourages the
idea that capitalism can be made better. A vote for the Socialist
Party in contrast, is a statement that you don’t want to live this
way and that you think another world is possible . If you have
confidence that humans can live and work co-operatively without the
pressure of the wages system, or the rationing system of money, then
vote for the Socialist Party .

In
this General Election many will encounter canvassers claiming to be
“socialists” who
blame the banks for causing the crisis and they will have slogans
like “Make the
banks pay”, Stop the tax-dodgers” and “Hands off our public
services and welfare state”

But
it's not true that the banks caused the crisis although they
endeavoured to take advantage. Popular resentment against banks and
bankers may be understandable, but it is still wrong to blame them
for causing the crisis. In fact we need to argue against this
misdirected resentment and its populist exploitation. The whole
capitalist system was complicit and culpable for the recession. It's
just what happens from time to time under capitalism as all business
enterprises pursue maximum profits and cutback on production when
there are no longer so many profits to be made. The only alternative
is not Corbyn's reforms and regulation but to replace the profit
system with one based on common ownership and democratic control so
that there can be production to satisfy people's needs instead of for
profit. We rightly dismiss Corbyn adopting a policy of ineffectual
reforms and legislation of just one sector of the capitalist economy.
We hold the entire capitalist class as culpable in the robbery of the
workers. The extension of the campaign to tax havens and corporation
tax loopholes may now involve the non-financial companies but it
still remains at the root, the rich stealing from the rich.

The
position of the Socialist Party is clear: we will not have a campaign
in an election based on supporting any given set of reforms; but we
do support the struggle of workers to defend their living standards
and services. Nor do we seek to take over any movment of resistance
to cuts like so many organisations on the left-wing do.

The
real lesson is that, since all that capitalism has to offer is
austerity and cuts, we should concentrate on organising to bring it
to an end by political action aimed at ushering in a society based on
the common ownership and democratic control of the means of
production so that there can be produce for directly for use and not
for profit, and distribution on the principle of "from each
according to their ability, to each according to their needs".
Socialism.

Let's
be clear: we're not in this election for office, or power, we're in
it to abolish a society in which people are made to work for the
people who own all the property. We're in this election to call upon
you to revolt. If you want a state-free, class-free, money-free
society where we co-operate to produce the things we need, then you
need to revolt. You need to say that that is your priority. You need
to tell your fellow-workers that you want them to revolt too. That is
what putting a cross next to The Socialist Party candidate means, it
means a rejection of the whole system of government and society, with
no compromise. It's a big leap, but we are confident that you can
make it. In the seats we are contesting we expected to come near
enough last: best be honest, eh? But that it was quality not quantity
that counts. We don't want people to vote for us, unless they mean it
and understand what socialism is. Our platform is to promise nothing:
if electors vote for us, they're making a promise, promising to
campaign and fight for socialism, and letting their fellow workers
know this.If
the impossible happens and we succeed to be elected our delegate will
vote, as instructed, in the interests of the workers, but we won't
kid on that we can save services within the profit-driven market
system where profits always come before people.As
government funds are squeezed by falling commercial profits and thus
a reduced tax take, they seek to cut or commercialise the costs of
health care.Our
election platform is to fight for the common ownership of the wealth
of the world so that our health and other needs can be met directly
without pecuniary consideration.

This
time you will have a real choice. We in THE SOCIALIST PARTY are
standing at this election to put forward an alternative to capitalism
and the madness of the market. We're talking about a world
community without any frontiers. About wealth being produced to
meet people's needs and not for sale on a market or for profit. About
everyone having access to what they require to satisfy their needs,
without the rationing system that is money. A society where people
freely contribute their skills and experience to produce what is
needed, without the compulsion of a wage. If
you want to vote for our party we're delighted. But we don't really
want votes based on a misreading of what we are about. We are not
promising to deliver socialism to you. We are not putting ourselves
forward as leaders. This new society can only be achieved if we
join together to strive for it. If you want it, then it is
something you have to bring about yourselves. If you agree with this,
you can show it by voting for THE SOCIALIST PARTY